Globally, over 2.1 million adolescents aged 10–19 and 5 million young people aged 15–24 are living with HIV. As a result of greater availability of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, many infants born with HIV can now survive into adolescence.

Overall objective:
To develop a multi-level HIV risk-reduction intervention targeting sex workers and their clients at entertainment venues (bars/night clubs) in Mombasa, Kenya and test its feasibility and acceptability, as well as the feasibility of an intervention evaluation design to be used in a future larger study.

The Biomarkers Study, short for “Characterisation of Novel Microbicide Safety Biomarkers in East and South Africa”, was initiated with the overall aim of establishing baseline ranges of biomarkers related to the vaginal environment in African target populations for microbicide trials.

“Haki Yenu”(It is your right ) is an ongoing study that is making a follow up on the survivors attended to at the centre to establish how many cases made it to the criminal justice system. The main goal of the study is to improve access to justice for survivors of sexual violence.

ICRH-Kenya in partnership with the Ministry of Health and support from APHIA PLUS aimed to contribute to increased access to quality reproductive health (RH) services among female sex workers(FSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Coast province.

The GBVRC is a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Health and ICRH. It was set up in May 2007 to complement and strengthen services available at the CPGH and provide comprehensive, quality care for survivors of rape, sexual violence and sexual exploitation. Coast Province General Hospital (CPGH) is one of the largest public hospitals in Kenya based in Mombasa and serves as a referral and training centre for the Coast region.

Determining the prevalence and correlates of placental malaria in HIV1 infected and non-infected women, the effect of placental malaria on viral shedding in the genital tract, and the impact of placental malaria on perinatal HIV1 transmission.

A large proportion of HIV infected persons - ranging from an estimated 15% to over 50% in EU countries - are unaware of their infection, and therefore do not benefit from treatment and may transmit HIV to others, unknowingly. There is evidence that many opportunities are being missed to diagnose HIV infections in EU countries, particularly in health care settings. ECDC has commissioned ICRH to carry out a study on HIV testing policies, practices and barriers to HIV testing in the EU Member States.

During war and armed conflict the vulnerability of children and adolescents increases, particularly cwhere their sexual and reproductive health rights and needs are concerned. Responding to these rights and needs requires a very specific approach.

Education and training can play a vital role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. They can inform and empower children and youth and thereby have a direct impact on the evolution of the epidemic. Education and training can as well have an impact on society, by changing social norms, fighting stigma and discrimination or triggering economic development and thereby have an indirect impact on the evolution of HIV/AIDS. At the same time, the already under resourced and overcharged education systems in sub-Saharan Africa are also affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

A photo exhibition on teenage pregnancies in Kinshasa aimed at sensitizing Belgian parlementarians and the general public on problems related to sexual and reproductive health and visualises the consequences of a lack of the implementation of sexual and reproductive rights.

During the last few years many governments and organisations have been financing and implementing HIV/AIDS prevention projects in sub-Sahara Africa. One of the methods used in HIV prevention that has known a steep upsurge is peer education. The Rwandan Red Cross, with the support of the Belgian Red Cross, has used this methods in its programmes in Rwanda. Because of the succes, the Red Cross aims to scale-up its programme. In that context, research is needed to study the critical success or failure factors of this method.

In Africa, one out of 210 mothers dies during pregnancy or delivery. One of the causes is the relatively low rate of institutional deliveries, due to transport problems and lack of infrastructure, but also due to cultural prejudices and resistance against giving birth outside the family circle. One of the ways to facilitate and encourage institutional deliveries is the establishment of ‘maternity shelters’ or ‘maternity waiting homes’ (‘casas de espera’ in Portuguese): facilities where future mothers can spend the last few days of their pregnancy close to a maternity hospital, so that they are assured of timely professional care during the delivery. This type of facilities exists in many African countries, but often the functioning is not optimal and the occupancy rate is much lower than it could be. ICRH launched a project in Kenya, aimed at promoting the use of maternity waiting homes and improving their functioning.

The main objective is to improve maternal and newborn health through a focus on the postpartum period, adopting context-specific strategies to strengthen health care delivery and services at both facility and community level in four sub-Saharan countries (Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique).

The DIFFER project aims at improving access to sexual and reproductive health for the most vulnerable by a better linkage between interventions targeted at most-at-risk populations, in particular female sex workers, and the general reproductive health services. It will be implemented at four sites in Kenya (Mombasa), Mozambique (Tete), South Africa (Durban) and India (Mysore).